Welcome to the North – AD Magazine

From this week, we visit the best floors decorated Airbnb, as this loft in an eighteenth century building in San Sebastian, a modern container contrasts with antiques that populate it.

“We were looking for a house in the old part of the city with character and high ceilings, and we attracted the history of this” confess Luis and Terese, owners of an apartment located in the heart of San Sebastian, just minutes from the La Concha beach, in a cul chosen by The New York Times as one of 12 best in Europe, who rent through Airbnb.

The story that lured them back to the late eighteenth century, when the building was built. During the French occupation Napoleon’s troops chose it as their headquarters until they lost in the battle of 1813 and a fire devastated the city, leaving only standing this construction, the churches of San Vicente and Santa María and San Telmo Museum. He then became the residence of the Marquises of Rocaverde.

San Sebastian best location old town luxury loft

The walls were demolished and some wooden beams were left in sight.

“When we arrived we had over 40 years uninhabited. It was compartmentalized into small rooms and kept in very bad condition, original features such as charcoal cooking or wallpaper” they say. In the reform, led by designer Javier Machimbarrena, interior walls and ceilings were torn down, revealing a space of 95 m2 diaphanous with a height of 4 meters, divided between a bedroom with dressing room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a large living room. To fill light, the fewest possible partitions rose and none took to the top, leaving the last free part for a window.

They installed new oak floors cleared and painted white walls and part of the wooden structure. “So we get a very clear and bright space.”

In this simple and current framework, they unfurled contemporary works of art and antiques. “We both love the decor. In fact, Terese runs a shop that has produced many of the pieces,” says Luis. At first, before renting, they were tempted to change everything by Ikea furniture. “The first book I received was a couple from New Zealand and reject it for fear that spoil something,” he confessed. But in the end they dared and, for almost 4 years, have received tourists from around the world, mainly from the US, Australia, UK and Canada. “Our guests, bon vivants who visit us attracted by the cuisine and culture of San Sebastian, take care of the house as their own”.